Also from Zoxell: These are the Voyages

Daniel Noah Shays is a human, born on Earth to a hard-working agriculturalist couple in the South Carolina back-country. Dan’s father was a farmer, as was his father’s father, going back hundreds of years. The world had moved past agriculture a long time ago. Having eliminated food shortages and hunger with the onset of replication technology, food growers on Earth were no longer necessary. This fact did not diminish the demand for fresh, organic vegetables, eggs, dairy, and meat, however.

Search for:

Chapter 4.12 – Secret

They used to call him “Cabin Boy”.

He had been born in the tiny cabin that was built by one of Sunset Valley’s first settlers. It stood there, over time, among the massive mansions and seemingly limitless wealth; mostly hidden from sight by the growth of trees and underbrush which had overtaken it. Despite the opulence it was surrounded by, the tiny log cabin remained, sitting proudly upon a plot of dirt far more valuable than anything its neighbors could fathom.

David had tried so hard to learn for himself what it was, exactly, that made this land so important. There have been others to discover its secret; some by accident, some by force. But not a single one of them has lived to take advantage of the knowledge. Consumed either by greed or madness, their restless spirits bristle at the lost opportunity.

A child of the tenth generation will learn the secret. This was the only piece of knowledge that David could claim after a lifetime of searching. And it came to him from the apparition of his grandmother, not through his own investigation. Some say it drove him crazy. He had become paranoid that some imaginary, rogue military man was killing off his family to protect “the secret”. His imagination had also conjured up an old girlfriend, who had somehow remained perpetually youthful; frozen in time at nineteen-years-old.

There is no denying the tragedy he had seen. His wife and youngest son were killed in a car-bombing; his two daughters were killed in a pair of freakish household accidents; and his oldest son, heir to the Barimen fortune, has gone missing and is thought to have been killed in action while fighting international crime. Few questioned the reason for his delusions. But all who knew him, grieved for the man they had lost long before his passing; a brilliant surgeon, keen fisherman, and loving father.

Yet, there are some who do not consider him crazy. There are sims, still alive, who remember Reid Kimura and his obsession with the abandoned mine. It is now sealed off and under control of the military. There is still the matter of documents missing from Sunset Valley archives. These documents all point to evidence that David’s ancestors had found something important in the mine; keeping it secret until such a time that the knowledge could be leveraged. And the pages torn out of a young girl’s diary point to something more than just an old man’s dementia.

In all likelihood, David has taken the passion for finding this secret to his grave. The box filled with his research and findings sits undisturbed in a closet filled with clutter. There is sure to be some clue hiding within the box that David had missed, simply due to the fact that he didn’t know what he was looking for. It could turn out that time alone will provide the missing pieces to the puzzle. The irony is sickening.

Kacey Kimura forces back a sob as she considers her ponderous misfortune. She loved David. With every minute fiber of her being, she loved him. How different would life had been if she could go back and change things? She grunts cynically at the thought of it, as if to keep from laughing at the dire situation in which she finds herself. David was never crazy. Not being able to reassure him of this fact, has been like torture for her.

A gentle breeze blows in from the ocean, shifting several strands of her silken, steel-colored hair out of place. Kacey thinks back to the night she last spoke to him. It was here, on this very spot, where she ran away after breaking off the relationship. She wants to cry; she wants to scream; she wants this whole disaster to stop, even if she has to die to make it so. After a few tense moments of contemplating the end, she is instantly calmed when the soft whisper of familiar voices approach. The soothing voices have accompanied her through this entire mess. They always begin with a whisper. Then, like an approaching train, they grow in volume and pitch until it seems they are all right here. Then they fade again as they retreat, but the sensation is always the same. She is left feeling calm and confident, as if they impart upon her the will to survive.

Their mysterious nature almost had her believing in a greater power, at first. But she understands what they are now; nothing more than echoes. The realization was disappointing, actually. She has always wanted to believe and accept religion with the same ease David had. But her logical mind does not allow it. In the absence of empirical data or tangible proof, there is nothing. Like the workings of a clock, the universe moves in mathematical precision with no mystical hand providing guidance; it is nothing but a cold, empty void.

Kacey shivers. It would be so easy to just end it here. But she has work to do, and she must continue forward. Allowing Reid the opportunity to discover the secret would be catastrophic. If he did, it would make her present struggle seem like a walk through the park. Even death would be unbearable. She takes some comfort in the knowledge that his day is coming. She is not sure how or when. But she knows it is coming.

Kacey senses that it will be time for her to leave soon, but she pauses. The voices have come to their peak and she closes her eyes as if to see them passing. They envelop her with soothing comfort, if only for just a moment. There had been more voices when she first encountered them. There are still many, but she knows their number is slowly dwindling. She is afraid to reach the day when there are no more voices to hear.

But she quietly holds on to the hope that unlike the other voices, the last one will not be her own.

I love Kacey’s role in the story. The facts about what is going on with her will be fully revealed (probably in chapter 6). The fun part, is that knowing what is going on with her will only pile on to the suspense.

Noooo 😦 It’s so sad to see David go and i will surely miss him. I loved the beginning of this chapter. How the pictures were done and the emotional way it was written, everything flowed so smoothly and fit together. Hmm…wondering what Kasey will bring into the adventure.. 😮

Zoxell

Up Next: Part 21 – ??

August 20, 2017
Van and Benita finally begin to heal their relationship and discover that their friendship does, indeed, have a much more complicated component. Big things await our embattled couple.
Next up – Frightening news from Area 15 is accompanied by a surprise visit from an old friend. Also, Benita receives help from a very unexpected source.